Construction and whaling

The Essex was reportedly built in Amesbury, Massachusetts. The three-masted ship was made from white oak, especially known for its strength, and it measured 87 feet (26.5 metres). In 1799 the Essex was launched, and it was believed to have been used as a merchant ship before being converted into a whaling vessel. It was based in Nantucket, considered the whaling capital of the United States.

In the early 19th century, whaling was an extremely difficult profession. After spotting the animal, whaleboats—measuring some 25 feet (7.5 metres)—were launched with about six men on board. After being maneuvered within feet of the giant mammal, a harpoon connected to a rope was thrown, tethering the small vessel to the whale. After the animal became tired, the sailors would kill it with a lance and then tow it to the main vessel, where it was harvested for blubber and oil. Despite the dangers of the trade, the Essex became known as a lucky vessel.

Final voyage and whale attack

On August 12, 1819, the Essex set sail on its fateful last journey, heading from Nantucket to the South Pacific Ocean. There were 21 men on board—including the first-time captain, George Pollard, Jr.—and the trip was expected to last up to three years. On August 14, however, the voyage nearly ended when the ship was briefly knocked onto its side by a squall and almost sunk. With the Essex damaged and missing two whaleboats, Pollard initially opted to return to Nantucket. However, First Mate Owen Chase—possibly worried that the men, believing the knockdown was a bad omen, might desert—convinced him to continue.

Since departing Nantucket, the crew had been searching for sperm whales. However, it was not until some two months into the voyage, when the Essex was south of Rio de Janeiro, that the first whale was sighted. Shortly thereafter, the men killed their first quarry. In January 1820 the Essex rounded Cape Horn, southern Chile, and entered the South Pacific. The hunting continued to prove largely disappointing until the ship reached the waters off Peru, where it took more than 10 whales. In about late May, Pollard decided to head farther from the coast, into a distant area that had recently proved highly profitable for whalers. In preparation, the Essex stopped at Atacames, Ecuador, in September 1820, and while there one of the crewmen deserted. Although shorthanded, the ship sailed on, stopping at Hood Island, Galapagos, where they fixed a leak on the Essex and caught nearly 200 tortoises. In late October 1820 they reached Charles Island and collected more tortoises before one of the crew members started a fire that soon spread throughout the small island, causing the men to flee.

The Essex resumed its journey, and on November 20, 1820, it was more than 1,500 nautical miles (2,800 km) from the Galapagos. That day whales were spotted, and three whaleboats were launched. The vessel commanded by Chase was damaged, however, and was forced to return to the Essex. While repairs were being made, a huge male sperm whale was spotted close to the ship. It was estimated to be 85 feet (26 metres) long; a typical male sperm whale was no bigger than 65 feet (20 metres). Later attempting to explain the normally timid creature’s unusual behaviour, some have speculated that the hammering on the whaleboat sounded similar to the clicks made by whales to communicate. Under this theory, the agitated animal believed that the boat was actually another male that had entered his territory.

Whatever its reason, the whale began speeding toward the Essex, ramming the port (left) side. After passing under the ship, the animal resurfaced and appeared stunned. However, it resumed its attack “with tenfold fury and vengeance,” striking the bow and causing catastrophic damage before disappearing.

Desperation and rescue

The other whaleboats returned to find that the Essex had capsized. Realizing that the ship was doomed, Pollard believed they should head for either the Marquesas or Society islands, more than 1,200 miles (2,200 km) or 2,000 miles (3,700 km) away, respectively. Not only were they the closest land, the crew would be sailing with the wind. However, Chase and Second Mate Matthew Joy believed that they would likely encounter cannibals. Instead, they argued for Peru or Chile, even though much of the course—which measured more than 4,000 miles (7,400 km)—would be against both the wind and strong currents. Pollard ultimately relented, and on November 22 the men left the barely afloat Essex. The three whaleboats, which had been outfitted with makeshift sails and given two months of provisions, were each commanded by one of the officers: Pollard, Chase, and Joy.

The journey soon turned perilous as the provisions dwindled, the men began to suffer from dehydration, and the boats encountered bad weather and were in constant need of repair; in late November Pollard’s boat was damaged by a marine animal, possibly a killer whale. On December 20, after having traveled some 1,500 miles (2,800 km), they arrived at what they thought was Ducie Island (it was actually nearby Henderson), one of the Pitcairn Islands. However, although they found freshwater, there was little food. Realizing they would need to continue sailing, the crew returned to their navigation charts and determined that while Chile was 3,000 miles (5,600 km) away, Easter Island was less than 1,000 miles (1,900 km). Even though the island was unknown to them, the desperate men set a course for it, and on December 27 they left Henderson, though three sailors decided to remain behind.

On January 10, 1821, Joy became the first sailor to die, and he was buried at sea; his boat then fell under the command of Obed Hendricks. The next day a storm caused Chase’s boat to separate from the others, and one of its crew members passed away on January 20. Some three weeks later, another sailor in that boat died, and the decision was made to cannibalize his body. On February 18, the remaining three sailors in Chase’s boat spotted a distant ship, the British brig Indian, and managed to sail to it, ending their 89-day ordeal.

The other whaleboats fared worse. On January 20–27, three men died on Hendricks’s boat and were eaten. On January 28 Pollard lost his first man, who was cannibalized. The two vessels were then separated the following day, and the boat carrying Hendricks and two others—none of whom had navigational equipment—was never seen again; a whaleboat with three skeletons was later found on Ducie Island, though it was never determined if they were from the Essex. Facing near death, the men on Pollard’s boat decided to draw lots to see who would be killed and eaten. Pollard’s cousin Owen Coffin pulled the shortest straw. Although Pollard offered to take his place, the teenager refused. He was shot on February 6. Five days later another crew member died, and he was also cannibalized. The two remaining men were rescued by the Dauphin, an American whaling ship, on February 23.

Aftermath and Moby Dick

All those rescued at sea were taken to Valparaíso, Chile, where they were reunited. After being told of the men on Ducie, the Australian ship Surry was dispatched to the island. Upon finding no one there, the Surry headed to Henderson Island, and on April 9, 1821, it rescued the remaining survivors. After returning to Nantucket, Chase wrote Narrative of the Most Extraordinary and Distressing Shipwreck of the Whale-ship Essex (1821; republished under various titles). In addition, Thomas Nickerson, a cabin boy on the Essex, later wrote his account of the sinking and rescue, but the notebook was lost and not published until 1984. Chase’s work inspired Herman Melville’s Moby Dick (1851). Other books and later films were also based on the doomed whaleship.